Long-term expats regain right to vote /COLIN PERKEL THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO — More than one million Canadians living abroad are now eligible to cast ballots in the next federal election after a court struck down a law stripping them of their voting rights. While mass murderers have the right to vote, long-term expats “who care deeply about Canada do not have the right, Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Penny said in his decision. Penny found part of the Canada Elections Act, which bars expatri¬ates who have lived abroad for more than five years from voting, is unconstitutional. “The (government) essentially argues that allowing non-resid¬ents to vote is unfair to resident Canadians because resident Ca¬nadians live here and are, on a day-to-day basis, subject to Canada’s laws and live with the consequences of Parliament’s decisions, Penny wrote. “I do not find this argument persuasive. For one thing, Penny ruled, expats may well be subject to Canadian tax and other laws. The government, the judge found, had decided some citizens are “not worthy to vote despite their constitutional right to do so. “This is not the lawmakers’ decision to make — the Charter makes this decision for us, Penny wrote. Citizenship, he noted, is a fun¬damental requirement for voting, not residency. The judge rejected the govern-ment’s request to put his decision on hold for 12 months. Pierre Poilievre, minister of state for democratic reform, had no immediate comment Sunday. It was not clear if Ottawa planned to appeal. Two Canadians living in the United States launched the consti¬tutional challenge, heard in Feb¬ruary, arguing the five-year rule was arbitrary and unreasonable. Both argued they had only left for educational and employment opportunities and still have a strong attachment to Canada and a stake in its future. One of the applicants, Montreal-born Jamie Duong, 30, of Ithaca, N.Y., said he was thrilled with Friday’s ruling. “The decision is good for me, good for democracy, and good for Canadians everywhere, Duong said. The other applicant, Toronto ¬born Gillian Frank, 35, of Prin¬ceton, N.J., who served in the Canadian military and was a Governor-General’s Award win¬ner, said the ruling had “strengthened our country’s democracy. Both said they looked forward to voting in the next election . The rule disenfranchising Ca¬nadians abroad for more than five years was enacted in 1993 amid debate about the strength of their ties to Canada and their know¬ledge of domestic politics. However, the five-year clock reset for those who returned even for short visits until 2007, when Elections Canada began enforcing the requirement for expats to “resume residency in Canada to regain their right to vote abroad if they left again.
Posted on: Mon, 05 May 2014 15:14:13 +0000
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